'Mapo Resource Recovery Facility' Selected as Seoul City's Candidate Site for Waste Incineration Plant

Existing facilities to be demolished by 2035, transformed into a space for Mapo residents
Site selection committee determined current Mapo facility site as optimal through quantitative evaluation
100 billion KRW for resident convenience facilities, 10 billion KRW annual fund to support residents

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has selected the current Mapo Resource Recovery Facility site as the optimal candidate site for a new resource recovery facility and will proceed with underground construction and modernization reflecting residents' opinions. The existing Mapo Resource Recovery Facility will be demolished by 2035 and reborn as a space for Mapo residents.

On the 31st, Seoul announced that the Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee selected the current Mapo Resource Recovery Facility site as the optimal candidate site through a final evaluation. The committee surveyed the entire Seoul area (about 60,000 locations) through a professional service agency and selected 36 sites that met the minimum site area requirement (15,000㎡).

Subsequently, by applying exclusion criteria, the 36 candidate sites were narrowed down to five, and a quantitative evaluation was conducted on 28 items across five fields: location, social, environmental, technical, and economic. The Sangam-dong site, where the current Mapo Resource Recovery Facility is located, was selected as the optimal candidate site.

According to the Site Selection Committee, the Mapo Sangam-dong candidate site received excellent evaluations in all five fields. Social conditions were highly rated due to the absence of residential households within the impact zone (within 300m) and the fact that it is currently designated as a waste treatment facility, so no urban planning facility decision is required. Additionally, as it is city-owned land, there are no costs or procedures for land acquisition, and economic conditions were also evaluated as superior compared to other candidate sites because incineration heat can be easily utilized for district heating.

Seoul plans to develop the area near the Mapo Sangam-dong candidate site into a premium landmark that harmonizes well with surrounding parks and waterfront spaces, making it a popular destination for Seoul citizens and tourists. For example, in Amager Bakke in Copenhagen, Denmark, a ski slope was created on top of the incineration facility, and a climbing wall was installed on the side, making it a popular tourist attraction. This incineration facility was also selected as the World Building of the Year last year. The Roskilde incineration plant in Denmark is famous for its creative design that reflects both historical heritage and industrial heritage by modeling the Roskilde Cathedral, incorporating the surrounding environment and resource circulation image.

The new resource recovery facility will be built as a safe and clean facility by introducing world-class pollution prevention equipment and state-of-the-art automation systems. In particular, emission standards will be strengthened to about ten times stricter than the legal limits, managing emissions more rigorously than existing resource recovery facilities as well as facilities in Europe and Japan. By undergrounding the incinerator and garbage truck access roads, odor and exhaust damage will be prevented, operating as an odorless and harmless facility.

Seoul will create resident convenience facilities such as swimming pools and playgrounds worth 100 billion KRW near the Mapo Sangam-dong site, reflecting residents' opinions, and establish an annual fund of 10 billion KRW to be used for residents' welfare improvement and regional development. Seoul plans to always communicate with residents throughout the entire process of constructing the resource recovery facility and reflect their opinions in the project.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "The new resource recovery facility will be built underground at the current Mapo site, introducing the latest advanced environmental clean technologies and equipment to create a safe and clean facility," adding, "Since this facility is essential for Seoul and its citizens, I ask for the understanding and cooperation of residents near the candidate site."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.